Pepper was our puppy 2 years ago. Rather than a dog guide, she was part of a different program She graduated late last year and we have a video of her working with a trainer. Do to medical privacy, we can't be told why her partner needs a service dog. The trainer in the demo is in a wheelchair. Here is part of an email we received from the field trainer that supervised us raising Pepper.

''First of all, the person she's helping is profoundly disabled...someone who uses a power wheelchair obviously and is most likely a quadriplegic. I
can surmise that from the use of the bungee leash that her person apparently doesn't have the physical strength or finger dexterity to hold and
manage a regular leash. Her partner is also not able to grasp objects well...that's why Pepper drops retrieved items on her trainer's lap and why
she gets her dog treats from a dog dish rather directly from her trainer's hand. (That way her new partner will still be able to give her food
rewards.) The arm lift that she does means that her person is unable to lift their arm back to the armrest when it falls off.



Pepper executes the light switches perfectly. This task as well as the arm lift are challenging tasks for a Service Dog to learn. Notice, too, that
she is very light on the leash and very voice responsive, traits necessary for a client who doesn't have the physical strength to give a leash
correction if necessary to get the dog's attention. The most capable dogs logically go to clients with the most severe limitations so please know
that she is a talented and dependable dog. ''

Needless to say, this email made us feel very good.